Motus KMV4

Motus Motorcycles has been working secretly with Katech Engines to develop the world's first Direct Injected V4 engine. Named the KMV4, the engine is an advanced, high performance powertrain designed for Motus MST motorcycles. Now undergoing extensive durability testing, the KMV4 is also the first American V4 ever built for a production vehicle.

Alabama-based Motus will compete with foreign manufacturers currently dominating the popular sport-touring segment. Sport tourers blend the two largest motorcycle segments, sportbikes and tourers, by combining comfort and performance. To be competitive in the performance-oriented world of sport touring, Motus determined that a proprietary engine would be needed.

"To create the ultimate sport tourer, we had to either work around the shortcomings of available engines or develop a purpose built engine for our application" said Brian Case, Vice President / Design Director at Motus.

Domestically made streetbikes are all currently powered by v-twin engines, which did not meet performance or efficiency targets for the MST concept. "The domestic motorcycle market is dominated by air-cooled v-twins, but to be successful in the long term, the MST has to present clear improvements over existing technology and not be another "me too" product," said Case.

After a global search and lengthy discovery process, Michigan-based Katech Engines emerged as the clear choice to help Motus design and build the KMV4.

"When researching quality engine builders, Katech was identified as a powerhouse of engine durability, engineering, and manufacturing," said Lee Conn, President of Motus. "Katech has over fifty endurance racing championships, experience developing new engines for OEM's, and access to the most advanced engineering and prototyping technologies. We couldn't be happier with our decision to retain Katech for the KMV4".

"Katech is thrilled to finally announce our involvement with Motus," said Fritz Kayl, co-founder of Katech. "The KMV4 is an exciting project that fits well within our capabilities and experience. We incorporated technology from our race programs to increase durability, performance, and efficiency. We are ahead of schedule and are refining the KMV4 into the most reliable motorcycle engine made," said Fritz Kayl.

"We didn't focus on maximum horsepower; we focused on heightening the rider experience. To us, that means tons of torque over a wide RPM range, low vibes, high efficiency and bulletproof durability. Enter the KMV4, a liquid cooled V4 with gDI," said Case.